Ara was in search of something particular. With the arrival of spring, came a fresh new bounty of herbs to search for and gather, for both studying and more practical matters. Oftentimes, many of her herbs went to waste, but she knew it was always better to have too many than too few in times of need. Her paws carried her away from Fiori's lands, eager to explore on this fine spring day. The sun was strong overhead, the air crisp and warm, far from uncomfortable now that winter had fully released its grip from the world. The woman made her way carefully through the gulley, overwhelmed by the various scents that seemed to hit her nose with alarming force. Many plants were blooming here, too many for her to take note of simultanously. Her pace was slow and aimless as she moved through the foliage, nose twitching gladly with each step. Despite everything, today was a lovely day, and she was on a mission.

This spring was turning out to be one of the most bountiful Solveiga had ever seen. It made her feel almost giddy with the possibility of collecting and learning about all kinds of new herbs. The excitement was almost enough to make her forget her season for a time. Herbs were a nice distraction from the awkward discomfort, she had to admit. Today, like most days, she strayed outside of Celestial boundaries hoping to bolster her stock even more. On this day she made her way to the gulley, which was of course known for producing a wide variety of herbs. The girl had no particular herb in mind, she simply wanted to search and see what she could collect. And as it turned out, she wasn't the only one with this idea. She padded through the foliage, sniffing at certain blooms that looked familiar. Lavender here, a bit of boneset there. But as she sniffed she caught a different scent: the scent of another wolf. Her steps paused and she looked about, a faint frown on her lips. She hadn't seen anyone else here with her. But the scent was unmistakeable. Maybe the other wolf was hidden in the plants somewhere... after all, it wasn't like Solveiga had a very high vantage point. "Talk" "You" Think

Ara could not help but miss her wife, and her sons. She longed for them quite desperately with every day that passed - the feeling only grew as the months drew on. While she had no doubt that Novel would return from her trip back to Ahlon, she didn't know when, and it was the uncertainty that weighed down on her. For now, her feelings of loneliness would be replaced by her drive to continue furthering her education and her collection of herbs. Perhaps this season she could find a better way to store them through the harsher seasons. She'd been considering crushing some into a pulp, perhaps with some water to dilute them, but she didn't know yet how she might store the results - or even bring the water to where she would do this. It was merely a thought, and she mulled over it as she padded through the thick underbrush. The scent of another hit her suddenly, stirring her from her focused thoughts. Ears perked as she followed it for a moment, not wanting to interrupt anything she shouldn't be. The stranger's scent grew stronger, with each step that she took through the underbrush, and she delicately navigated toward it. If she could figure out who was there, perhaps she could avoid them and continue along her way. The very last thing she wanted to do was to interrupt someone else's day. She pushed forward, ambling through the roots and stems of plants below her paws, and then... .. she felt her nose bump into the flank of a stranger. Yelping softly from surprise, she pulled away, feeling suddenly flushed with embarrassment. Ara knew the scent had gotten stronger, but the scent of flowers and herbs had obscured it partially. Eyes widened as she moved back, shaking her head. "I'm sorry," she stuttered quietly, bashfully, to the stranger. "I didn't realize I was so close." It was obvious she didn't intend to run into her, and she looked down to her paws for a moment.

She still couldn't see anyone, but the scent was getting stronger. The small woman tried to arch her neck, lifting her head as high as she could, but some of the ferns and larger shrubs were still blocking her view. Maybe if she kept moving, she might find a spot from which she could see the other creature here in the gulley with her. She was just preparing to take her first step when she felt something, specifically a nose, bumping against her flank. Solveiga yelped softly at the same time the other woman did, and she turned to face her. Her blue eyes met a matching pair, and she couldn't help but laugh shyly as the woman tried to apologize. "No, no," she said quietly, putting on a friendly smile. "It's alright. I didn't know you were so close either, I can hardly see a thing through all this foliage," Solveiga said. She reached out with a paw to temporarily flatten a couple of plants that were still obstructing her view, and then she smiled more brightly. The other woman was a few inches taller, but that was no surprise. The sand colored girl was used to looking up at people. She wagged her tail gently as she noted the smell of herbs on the fur of this other woman. Was she a healer too? "Any chance you're on an herb hunt like me?" Solveiga asked. That would be convenient. This woman was older than Solveiga, which meant she might know more about herbs. Solveiga never passed up the chance to learn something new. "My name is Solveiga, by the way. Solveiga Derus." Her smile grew a bit more bashful as she introduced herself to the stranger. "Talk" "You" Think

In her studies - in her gathering and traveling and testing - she felt as though she could forget everything else that bothered her. She still missed Novel with every day that passed, but distractions were helpful. It kept her mood far more light than it would be otherwise. Ara had even been so distracted by the scents around her that she'd unintentionally ran into a stranger. She felt quite embarrassed about it, and she was suddenly grateful that her coat hid the heat that suddenly rose to her face. "Isn't it wonderful?" she replied with a faint smile - referring to the fact that the foliage was so thick.  Carefully she would pull herself away a few more small steps, a polite enough distance she she figured she could speak from without making the stranger uncomfortable. The stranger was younger than her, it seemed, though she was clearly not a child. And, somewhat surprisingly, she asked if she was looking for herbs. Instantly her gaze brightened, any traces of embarrassment that remained fading away. "Actually, I was," she replied readily, nodding. "Seemed like the perfect place to look." Though herbs were plentiful here, so many scents also made finding particular ones a bir of a challenge. "I'm Ara Destruction. Pleasure to meet you." It was difficult to contain her joy at finding someone else interested in healing. She grinned at her, tail batting at her hocks in pleasure.

Solveiga smiled brighter as the other woman spoke. Solveiga was the shy type, normally. She disliked being in large groups, especially with wolves she didn't know. But this wolf was friendly, very friendly in fact, and Solveiga felt herself warming up to her right away. The two seemed excited to have found fellow healers, and the sand colored woman nodded enthusiastically when Ara said that this seemed like the perfect place to search for herbs. "It really is!" the younger woman exclaimed, laughing a bit at her own excitement. "It's so nice to meet you, Ara," she said. Maybe it was naive or childish, but she already felt like Ara could be the perfect friend. Solveiga may have been a shy woman, but that didn't mean she didn't like to have friends. The two women seemed very similar. "Any specific herbs you were looking for?" she asked, still wagging her tail as she turned part of the way around, gesturing with her head for the two to walk through the foliage together. She silently hoped that the herbs Ara was looking for would be rare ones, or ones that were unknown to Solveiga. Then she could have the opportunity to learn something from the older healer. "Talk" "You" Think

Ara's gaze was full of authentic warmth as she gazed at Solveiga. Her explanation elicited a gentle laugh, falling softly from her lips as she nodded again in agreement. It was beautiful here, and full of plants to study and collect - and quite a few to simply enjoy without needing to gather them. Even flowers, ones with no uses that she knew of, were still quite pleasant.  "It's not often I find other healers," she spoke with a bit of excitement that she didn't bother to hide. It was exciting to share her craft with others, to learn and to teach.  "Sorry if I seem too eager." In reality, she was rather reserved even now, far more than most wolves tended to be. "I was hoping to find some wintergreen," she admitted, a bit sheepishly. She'd only seen it once before, and didn't even know if she'd find it here or not, but she'd been on the trail of some for a few days now.  "What about you?" Her own quest was a bit of an unlikely one, and she figured she could help Solveiga, especially if she was looking for something more common. And even if not, the company was appreciated more than she could articulate.

Solveiga laughed gently as the other woman explained that she seemed eager because she rarely found other healers. "Please, don't be sorry," she said, still chuckling a bit. "I'm pretty eager myself, as I'm sure you can tell." The cream colored woman flushed a bit, smiling shyly as she started padding through the plants with her new herb hunting buddy. She paused now and then, sniffing at plants that looked familiar. At first she thought she had found a batch of periwinkle, but she was mistaken. The flowers weren't the same. She looked back at Ara, listening as she spoke of wintergreen. She had heard of it, and knew it was particularly useful especially in more serious situations. But she hadn't the slightest idea what it looked like. "In that case, I think I'm on the hunt for some wintergreen too," she said with a cheerful flip of her tail. "What does it look like?" Her eyes brightened a bit with curiosity. She wanted to know, so she could recognize and gather it if she were lucky enough to stumble across some in the future. "Talk" "You" Think

It felt truly, deeply good to be around someone she shared something with. Even if it was just a simple interest - for all she knew, they could be different in all other aspects and she wouldn't care much. Solveiga seemed to be a good creature on the surface, and she found no reason to doubt that assumption. She was happy to be at her side as they walked together, her tail flicking gently behind her as she moved. Her words brought a soft laugh from Ara's chest. Apparently she wasn't looking for anything in particular, then. Having a partner to search with her, well, that worked for her. "It's, uh..." she searched her brain for it for a long while. "It's a small scrub, with small thick leaves and bright red berries. I've heard it can be deadly if too much is taken, but the smell is lovely," she offered with a small smile as she tilted her head toward Solveiga. "If you've ever seen mint, it smells a bit like that." Hopefully that gave her something to go off of, and even if not, she wasn't that committed to finding it anyway. She had no use for it, though wouldn't mind having some for her stores just in case.